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THE FIRST HINT of dawn barely tints the summer sky when I slip out of the old bunkhouse on Tiritiri Matangi Island. Across the calm Hauraki Gulf, glittering night lights of New Zealand's largest city, Auckland, remind me that the hubbub of civilization is only 15 miles distant. But as I head down into the forested valley, I am at once enveloped in the most wondrous, soul-lifting wild bird chorus I have ever heard.

As if directed by an unseen conductor presiding over an island-wide orchestra, the island's entire population of native New Zealand songbirds erupts in full harmony. Fuzzy-tongued nectar lovers, ancient wattle birds and forest-floor insect eaters all vie with each other to greet the new day. Their ethereal rhythms rise and fall not unlike those of a classical violin concerto. It is sheer bird magic, made all the more incredible because 20 years ago it simply did not exist here on this tiny speck of land, a mere 550 acres known for short as Tiri.

The story of this little island stands out as an example of the miracles that can be accomplished when people join hands to achieve a common dream. Tiri is a living illustration of what New Zealand once was, long before humankind arrived, and what it could be again if this vision were expanded countrywide.

But for the moment, down in the bush-clad valley where twilight lingers, I close my eyes and immerse myself in the sea of sound, picturing each musician still unseen in the thickets. Apace with the brightening daylight, every one chimes in a few minutes after the last.

First there's the tui, a grackle-size bird with blue-black and purple hues, filamentous white feathers woven through its nape and a white, tufty throat pompon worn like a bow tie. It quivers as it sings. Triple notes ring out arrogantly, like three big drops of water dripping loudly into a quiet pool, interspersed with delicate twitters so high- pitched I can barely pick them up.

Then comes the New Zealand robin, one of the least showy species on the island's bird list. Gray, chubby, long-legged and big-eyed, it spends most of its time on the forest floor. Its delectably sweet melody-clear and pure, urgent yet unstinting-goes on and on and on, not even pausing for breath, it seems.

# posted by Medical Information : 12:54 AM